In 1801, the U.S. House of Representatives chose Thomas Jefferson as third president of the United States after he and Aaron Burr tied in the Electoral College. It took 35 indecisive House ballots before Jefferson finally won and Burr became vice president.

In 1817, Baltimore became the first U.S. city with gas-burning street lights.

In 1909, Apache leader Geronimo died while under military confinement at Fort Sill, Okla.

In 1979, "A Prairie Home Companion," hosted by Garrison Keillor, made its national debut on National Public Radio.

In 1979, in response to the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, China launched an invasion of Vietnam.

In 1986, Johnson and Johnson halted production of all non-prescription drugs in capsules following the death of a Peekskill, N.Y., woman from cyanide-laced Extra-Strength Tylenol.

In 1993, in an address to a joint session of Congress, President Bill Clinton called on Americans to "summon the courage to seize the day" and implored the nation to adopt deep government cuts and tax hikes to renew the troubled economy.

In 1994, a former U.S. Treasurer, Catalina Vasques Villalpando, pleaded guilty to obstructing the investigation of influence peddling at the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the 1980s.

In 1995, Jamaican immigrant Colin Ferguson was convicted of killing six passengers on a New York commuter train in December 1993.

In 1997, Pepperdine University announced that Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr would resign to become dean of its law and public policy schools. Four days later, Starr reversed his decision and said he would stay on as special counsel.

In 1999, Israeli guards killed four Kurdish protesters when they stormed the Israeli consulate in Berlin. The Kurds suspected Israel had helped Turkey capture Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan two days earlier in Kenya.

In 2002, a series of raids by communist rebels left 137 dead in Nepal.

In 2003, when security guards used pepper spray to break up a fight at a packed Chicago social club the ensuing panic by patrons resulted in 21 deaths as the crowd stampeded for the exits.

In 2004, same-sex marriages continued in San Francisco in defiance of state law after two judges declined to rule on efforts to halt the practice.

In 2005, President George W. Bush nominated John Negroponte to be the first director of national intelligence.

A thought for the day: Aldous Huxley wrote, "Experience is not what happens to you; it's what you do with what happens to you."

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